I. INTRODUCTION
A. The common understanding of love is that it is an emotion, but love is much more than that.
1. Certainly, there is an emotional aspect of love that consists of affections and tenderness.
2. However, such emotional love is subjective and fickle. This is not the kind of love that Paul said endures, never fails, and abides (1Cor. 13).
B. In the word of God, love is commanded to Christians many times and many ways.
1. We cannot produce genuine emotions on command, so the love commanded by the Bible must not be the emotional kind.
2. In truth, the love commanded by God is a practice and a way of life.
3. We could approach this subject by studying the various Greek words for love, but let us learn love simply by observing the contexts of the Scriptures.
II. WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE
A. The Lord has said that the greatest commandment is to love God. How shall we love Him?
1. Notice Matthew 22:37-38 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.”
2. This commandment is fulfilled not by affectionate feelings, but by faithful obedience.
a. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1John 5:3)
b. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
c. Let us understand that love is not the product of obedience, but rather obedience is the product of complete and devoted love from the heart, soul, and mind.
i. We cannot mindlessly perform good works and then claim to have loved God. Such loveless deeds profit nothing (1Cor. 13:1-3).
ii. Instead, our great love of God will motivate us to obey His commandments in an effort to please Him. In this way, outward obedience is the proof of love within.
B. The Lord also said that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors. How shall we love them?
1. Notice Matthew 22:39 – “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
2. The Lord’s classic teaching on this subject is found in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
a. When a lawyer asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus replied by asking him what he understood about the subject from the Law of Moses. The lawyer answered correctly – one must love God and his neighbor.
b. Not satisfied, the lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied by teaching the parable.
i. A man was robbed, beaten, and left half dead by the side of the road.
ii. He was seen first by a priest and then by a Levite, but they neglected to help him. At last he was seen by a Samaritan, who rescued him and provided for all his needs.
c. After Jesus taught the parable, He asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” The lawyer answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
3. The lesson of the parable is that our neighbors are our fellow men. We practice love toward them by treating them as we would want them to treat us (the “golden rule” – Matt. 7:12).
C. The new commandment that Jesus gave to Christians was for them to love one another. How shall we practice brotherly love?
1. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34).
2. In the likeness of Jesus, we must practice love toward one another not merely by tender affection but by efforts of kindness and mercy.
a. Notice 1John 3:16-18. Jesus loved the brethren by giving His life. True brotherly love imitates Jesus and manifests itself through deeds and truth. See also John 15:12-17.
b. Without such love for the brethren, we cannot truly claim to love for God or to know God, for God is love (1John 4:7-11, 20-5:2).
3. Therefore, let us observe 1Peter 1:22 – “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart…”
D. Husbands are commanded to love their wives. How shall they love them?
1. Consider the commandment and the example given in Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her…”
2. The love of a husband for his wife is more than just the feelings of affection that brought them together. His love must lead him to put his wife’s needs above his own.
a. It was not necessary for Christ to die on His own behalf, but it was necessary for Him to die on behalf of the church. Therefore, He loved the church by giving His life for her.
b. In Christ’s likeness, a husband must sacrifice himself in love for his wife. He must respond to her needs as if they were his very own (Eph. 5:28-29).
E. Wives are to love their husbands. How shall they love them?
1. Notice the instruction given in Titus 2:3-4 – “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children…”
2. A wife learns how to love her husband by learning how to be a godly wife.
a. The word translated “encourage” in the passage above means “to teach” or “to train.” Affections cannot be taught, but a wife can be trained in godliness.
b. A godly wife learns to love her husband by submitting to his authority (Eph. 5:22-24), by being a helper to him (Gen. 2:18, 21-24), and by being excellent in all that she does (Prov. 31:10-31).
F. Parents are commanded to love their children. How shall they love them?
1. Parents do not have to be taught to have affection for their newborn baby, for this comes naturally. However, true love for the child has to be learned and carefully practiced.
2. Consider how the Scriptures direct parents to love their children.
a. Notice Proverbs 13:24 – “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”
b. Likewise, Hebrews 12:5-11discusses the loving discipline of a father.
i. Notice that undisciplined children are as illegitimate children (v. 8), meaning that they lack the loving influence of a father.
ii. Loving parents train their children because they want the child to yield the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” (v. 11).
c. Notice Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
i. Godly discipline is not oppressive and burdensome so as to provoke a child to anger and rebellion.
ii. The discipline and instruction of the Lord is applied by the loving hand of a father who understands that the purpose of his child’s life is to serve God.
G. Christians are commanded by the Lord to love their enemies. How shall they love them?
1. Notice Matthew 5:43-44 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
2. No one feels kindly affectionate toward his enemies, but everyone can love his enemies through efforts of kindness and mercy.
a. Jesus commended prayer on behalf of one’s persecutors. Lifting up a person’s name to the attention of the Father is an act of love. Jesus did this Himself as He died on the cross (Luke 23:34).
b. Paul commended acts of kindness toward one’s enemies in Romans 12:20 – “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
III. CONCLUSION
A. By considering the Scriptures, let us understand that love is as love does. See 1Corinthians 13:4-7.
B. Therefore, true godly love is evident through our actions. Such love is God’s commandment, and it is the greatest of all commandments.